The Power of your Online Presence

According to a study by CareerBuilder.com, 45% of employers are now searching social networking sites for information about job candidates.  Their searches are almost evenly divided among Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn.  In addition, some are reading blogs and following candidates on Twitter.

What does this mean for you, the job seeker?

The study goes on to summarize a few reasons you might be accepted or rejected based on what you have put out there in cyberspace.  Employers may reject you if:

• You have posted inappropriate, gross, drug-influenced material,
• You communicate poorly (spelling, grammar, overall appearance),
• You lie about your qualifications for the job.

On the other hand, your online presence can work for you if:

• You seem to be a good fit for the company,
• You show creativity,
• Your entries support the qualifications you claim to have.

This is a fascinating study, and I urge you to read the whole story.  You will see that your online identity cannot be ignored in your job search, but rather it can be a real plus to you.  Don’t self-destruct by careless comments or unwarranted bragging.  Ask a friend – call a career counselor – be your own most severe critic.  Clean up that site now!

To read the whole story, go to:

http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=pr519&sd=8%2f19%2f2009&ed=12%2f31%2f2009&siteid=cbpr&sc_cmp1=cb_pr519_

To get help in repairing or enhancing your online presence, please contact me through my website:  www.anneheadley.com.

Basic career message with a light touch

If you know someone who needs to brush up on the tools of the job search, yet dreads the process of slogging through all those steps, here’s a suggestion:  pick up a copy of Courting your Career by Shawn Graham. This paperback book draws parallels between courtship and the job search in a way that should be appealing to job seekers, especially the young ones.

• What to include/leave out in your resume?
• Why should you write a cover letter?
• Why fill out these tedious forms?

Well, let’s think about it.  When you are going out on a date, or arranging to meet someone,

• does it matter what you wear?
• why take a shower?
• why did you choose that shirt?

I find this analogy not only fun to think about, but persuasive .  According to Graham, the first characteristic in effective resumes is to be attractive.  Easy to read, lots of white space, not too much detail.  And no typos, no spelling errors, no misplaced apostrophes (my personal campaign).  Easily related to no ketchup stains on the shirt or spinach stuck in the teeth.  We get it!

If you have a recalcitrant job seeker in your life, this just might help.  Congratulations to Shawn Graham, who has combined very basic career information with an easy-to-digest, funny metaphor about the quest for romance.

The Enemy of the Successful Job Search

If there is one thing than can defeat even the most talented or experienced job seeker, it is inertia.  Call it boredom, depression, discouragement, frustration, I am referring to the condition of doing nothing.  Nothing.  No phone calls, no neighborly chats, no research, most of all, no human contact.

Remember the lottery slogan, You Gotta Play to Win? There is such obvious truth in it that we need to consider it here.

The small mistakes that people can make while looking for a job (not sending a thank-you letter, not asking references for permission to use them, not doing adequate research on a company of interest) pale beside the error of doing absolutely nothing.  If you are in this situation, Couch Potato, it is time to take a step forward.

(Well, hey, I’m reading a career counselor’s blog, doesn’t that count?)

Reading a blog or a website only really counts if you take the effort to write a comment, follow up on the advice you gained, read a suggested book or article, or otherwise show that you gained from reading the item.

What are you going to do today?

• But it’s Sunday and nobody’s at work…
• I have three applications out there.
• Haven’t you heard about the high unemployment rate?

I’m not impressed with the above-listed whines.

• Yes, it’s Sunday. And tomorrow, people will be checking their email and listening for phone messages.  Will yours be there?
• You can leave messages about those applications, restating your interest.
• Yes, unemployment is climbing.  And I could name you a few clients of mine who just got good to great jobs.  Why?  Because they worked at it.  They aren’t really any smarter or more experienced than you.  They’re hard workers.

Need more of a nudge?  Feel free to contact me through my website, www.anneheadley.com.  I’d love to help you recover from your inertia.

LinkedIn: the new Resume?

Are you on LinkedIn?

If not, why not?  It’s free, it’s more professional than its chatty social network cousins.  Its reputation is far more solid and less gimmicky than those other sites.

If yes, are you using your site to your career advantage?

I recently came across an excellent article by communications expert and wordsmith Kenya McCullum, on using LinkedIn in your job search.  I recommend that you read the complete article, but several points struck me as the most immediately useful.

Complete your profile and keep it that way.  There is space to describe your current job and your work history.  The format is pretty much up to you.  Here you can gracefully intersperse volunteer and paid employment as well as your ongoing studies.  You can identify fields of interest you are researching in a way that sells you the most effectively. You can highlight your dedication to customer service in a way that reflects positively on you and might make employers want to meet you.

Use your status update function professionally.  It’s the first thing people see, and it has huge possibilities for self-marketing.  This can be your job objective, a summary of your skills, or a current highlight of your professional life.  Please don’t clutter it up with descriptions of your family, friends, or social life.

If you work hard to develop your profile, McCullum says it can become your online resume.  For me, it’s not going to take the place of a paper document, but rather serve as a supplement.  I recommend that you read the entire article on the possibilities of LinkedIn for your job search. You can find the article at http://www.examiner.com/x-13521-SF-Workplace-Communication-Examiner~y2009m7d14-How-to-use-LinkedIn-during-your-job-search.

How have you used LinkedIn in your job search?  I’d love to hear your success stories using this twenty-first century tool.

Part-Time Jobs: The time is now

The role of the part-time job is essential in measuring the progress of economic recovery.  Because businesses lack confidence as well as deep pockets, they may refuse to offer full-time positions even though they may need the help.  Instead, they are posting half-time jobs.

But you’re a full-time worker, and have been so for all your work life.  What’s with this part-time situation?  

I believe you should say yes if there is something compelling or otherwise appropriate about the offer.  What is good about it?

• You’re working again, and some money is better than no money,
• You’re making connections, expanding your network,
• There might be overtime,
• You’ll be there as confidence builds and people start spending again,
• If the company grows, your loyalty and hard work may be rewarded with a full-time position,
• You’re gaining new skills,
• You still have energy for the rest of your life, such as family, education, and community activities.

In a flourishing job market, it’s a good thing to hold out for a great situation.  But no one has used the word flourishing to describe today’s work world in recent memory.  You’ve already held out for a time and nothing has happened.  So go ahead – take that part-time offer.  You just may be very glad you did.

An Overlooked Resource for Networking

What was the last school you attended?  How are you still using it?

If it was college, whether for an undergraduate,  graduate degree, or no degree, does that school know where you are?  Are you in touch with your alumni office? Is that office helping you find a better job?

If you are not enlisting their aid, you are not getting a benefit that you or your parents paid for.  A good placement office should be in touch by email or newsletter or other publication with as many graduates or attendees as possible.  And there should be networking opportunities.  If you live in a metropolitan area, there should be a regularly scheduled meeting for alums in that area.

If there is no such thing, someone needs to start one, and that someone might be you.  Contact your college’s alumni relations to find out.  

Embarrassed about your employment situation?  Many people are.  You may feel like an insecure 20-something again, and it need not be that way.  Yes, there are those who will come and flaunt their success to the group.  Some were always like that and always will be.  But you may reconnect with a friend or two, or make a new one.  You will find people eager to share business cards (don’t forget yours).  And you just never know what might happen.  You can always leave if nothing is happening.

Do you have a story about an alumni gathering that might encourage others?  I’d love to see you write it here.